


Somebody Waits For You

by radondoran



Category: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Genre: M/M, Names, Post-Canon, Pre-Slash, Undue Seriousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-30
Updated: 2012-01-30
Packaged: 2017-10-30 09:02:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/330060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radondoran/pseuds/radondoran
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Hermey feels lonely and Yukon Cornelius has hidden depths.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Somebody Waits For You

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea where this came from.

"Wahoo!" calls Yukon Cornelius, emerging from his mine. "Hermey, my lad! Long time, no see! If you're here to help with the digging, I'm afraid you're too late--operation's just closed for the day."

"No," says Hermey. His voice is even quieter than usual, and as he sits there on the sled with the supplies (how long has he been waiting out here, Cornelius wonders), he looks nervous and unhappy. "I just wanted to see you. I hope that's okay. I want to talk to someone, I guess."

"Of course! Talk away!" Cornelius takes his pickaxe to one of the chunks of ore waiting to be carted away, breaks off two small pieces, and offers one to Hermey. "Peppermint?"

"Thank you." Hermey licks it and shudders a little; this is pure unprocessed peppermint ore, the real strong stuff. But for Cornelius, at least, it's not unwelcome in the chill of a North Pole spring. He sits down with his own piece.

"Don't bite it," says Hermey.

"Oh, all right. Spoilsport," Cornelius grumbles, and Hermey smiles--briefly. "What's on your mind? Glamorous life of a dentist not all it's cut out to be?"

"No, that's not it. I love my work. I'm being kept busy enough, too. Christmastown needed a dentist. It's just..." Hermey sighs.

"What?"

"This is all I've wanted for so long. I thought once I got it, I'd be happy. And it's true that I'm not as unhappy as when I made toys. But I still feel like there's something missing."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. It doesn't make any sense, but I feel kind of... lonely. Everybody likes me now, but I still feel like a misfit."

Cornelius pulls at his moustache in thought. "Well, you said it yourself, didn't you? What's the matter with bein' a misfit?"

"Nothing," Hermey replies immediately. "But--well--I'd like to fit in with somebody. Rudolph and Clarice are so happy together. I don't even really like any of the girl elves. Lately I'm worried that I'll never find what Rudolph has. I'll never find somebody I... fit in with."

"Nonsense! Of course you will."

"But how can you be sure?" Hermey asks. "Did you ever find someone like that?"

"Thought I did, once," says Cornelius.

"Oh." Hermey looks down, apologetic.

Cornelius claps him on the shoulder. "But it's nothing to mope about! There's always tomorrow. You've got to look to the future--that's what I do. Doesn't do anybody any good to sit around worrying. Buck up! You'll find your happiness one way or another."

"I guess so." Hermey clenches a fist in determination. "No, you know what, you're right. Thanks, Yukon."

He still looks glum, though, so Cornelius tries to change the subject. "You know that isn't really my first name? I just happen to be from the Yukon."

"Oh!" Hermey blushes; apparently he really hadn't known. "I'm sorry, C--"

"No, no, it's alright!" Cornelius cuts him off. "Just letting you know, that's all! I don't mind. Kind of like having a nickname."

They sit in silence for a few moments, listening to the distant barking of the Christmas seals.

"What's it like?" Hermey asks. "The--the Yukon." The familiar name is suddenly tentative and uncertain.

Cornelius sucks at his peppermint a moment before answering. "In some ways, it's a lot like this place. But it's not so bright and cheerful and full of magic as Christmastown. It's vast, and free, and wild. It's hard and cruel and unforgiving. When you look across that endless forest or up at the millions of stars in that far-off sky, it makes you feel like you're all alone in the world. But bleakness can be beautiful too, you know."

"Hmm." Hermey thinks about that for a moment; he doesn't seem to get it, no more than any native Christmastowner would. But he thinks about it, which is more than most of 'em would do. "I'd like to see it," he says. "Why did you leave?"

 _To find gold and silver! Silver and gold!_ That's what Cornelius would usually say. It's not a lie; he's always been a wanderer and a treasure-hunter by nature. But he could have found plenty of gold if he'd stayed in Carmacks--if he could have stayed there. He wanted to, for a while. The face of Alaska Joe flashes before his mind again, and the memory of heartbreak squeezes dully in his chest. He remembers packing up his sled and leaving town, eventually making his way further north than any town he knew. No, not all his wanderings have been about prospecting for treasure. Something about Hermey's honesty before makes him want to tell the truth too, or at least part of it.

"Because I'm a misfit," he says.

Hermey doesn't ask for details. The little elf slumps against Cornelius's side. He must be tired; or maybe the peppermint is going to his head. "You won't leave Christmastown, though, will you?" he asks quietly.

"No," says Cornelius. Then, the lightheartedness returning, he adds: "Leastways, not until after the ore runs out. I'm sitting on a gold mine, here!"

Hermey looks up at him with a smile. "You mean, you're sitting next to a peppermint mine."

"I was being metaphorical! Sheesh!" But Cornelius can't help smiling back. He squeezes Hermey's shoulder again, and stands up. "Come on, matey. We'd better get back to town--it's getting late. No, don't bother getting up. I've got it."

Cornelius pulls his sled back into town, passenger and all. He doesn't mind the extra weight, such as it is, one bit.

When it comes time to part, Hermey hesitates. "Can I come see you again tomorrow?"

"Of course!" Cornelius exclaims. "Come whenever you like! I'd be more than happy to see you."

"Thanks. And--and the same goes for you," Hermey adds. "You should come in for a cleaning sometime."

"I'll think about it," says Cornelius, doubtfully. "Well, good night, Hermey."

"See you tomorrow, Yukon."


End file.
